


The Trap

by KarkatEgbert



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Friendship, M/M, Pale Romance | Moirallegiance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-25
Updated: 2013-02-25
Packaged: 2017-12-03 15:40:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/699858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KarkatEgbert/pseuds/KarkatEgbert
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Karkat is worried about Gamzee and enlists his bro, Dave Strider, to help lure him out. A feelings jam ensues. Very short oneshot.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Trap

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this as a request from thiefofspace945. Also, this is my first attempt at this pairing. Hope you like it :3

The final hour was approaching. After traveling for years, the asteroid was within range of its impact zone, and deep within the asteroid, Karkat Vantas was freaking the fuck out.   
“GOD FUCKING DAMN EVERYTHING ON THIS GOD-FORSAKEN ROCK.”  
“chill on out, bro. i know it’s crunch time, but we are a fucking well oiled machine. A motherfucking assembly line. No cottage industries here. this is the fucking industrial revolution.”  
“CAN YOU ‘CHILL’ ON YOUR EXTENDED SIMILES FOR A SECOND?”  
“sure. what’s got your jimmies rustled?”  
“IT’S GAMZEE. I’M WORRIED ABOUT HIM. HE’S STILL SOMEWHERE IN THE VENTS, PROBABLY. WHEN WE FINALLY HIT, I WANT HIM TO BE OK. I KNOW WE AREN’T EVEN MOIRAILS ANYMORE, BUT I STILL CARE ABOUT HIM. I DON’T WANT HIM TO DIE. TOO MANY OF MY FRIENDS HAVE DIED ALREADY.”  
“I get you. watching all the people you love die, it’s rough. Hell, dying is pretty shitty. I was just lucky my quest bed was there to be my comfortable little casket. I’m not even sure that clown can die, but I get why you want to find him. We can try to flush him out of the vents if you want.”  
“WE’VE BARELY SEEN HIM THIS ENTIRE TIME. WHAT IS YOUR FUCKING GENIUS IDEA FOR MAKING HIM LEAVE THE VENTS?”   
“Faygo. if Rose can make apple juice, the purest substance on the face of both of our universes, she can make some of his juggalo swill.”  
“THAT’S ACTUALLY NOT THE WORST IDEA YOUR THINK-PAN HAS EVER SHIT OUT.”   
After extensive blackmailing of Ms. Lalonde with the threat of confiscating all of the alcohol on board, the dynamic duo set up a veritable alter to the acidic beverage. They took shifts watching their trap, with Karkat taking most of them. He didn’t want to sleep; he was way too worried about Gamzee. The horrorterrors would be worse than usual and Karkat wanted to be the one to see Gamzee first.   
He was fighting to stay awake when he heard a hiss. He thought it might be Strider beatboxing in his sleep again, but then he heard the unmistakable glug of soda.   
“GAMZEE?” He questioned into the dark. He slowly approached the pile of Faygo. The noise stopped and he heard a backwards shuffle of feet.  
“GAMZEE, WAIT! PLEASE, JUST…WAIT.” The shuffling stopped, and Karkat moved closer until his eyes adjusted and he was able to see his old friend.   
“HeY, bRo.” Karkat gasped. Gamzee’s hair was a tangled rat’s nest circling smeared greasepaint. His friend’s eyes were a startling constrast of yellow and bloodshot purple.   
“HEY, ARE…ARE YOU ALRIGHT? NO, FUCK, OF COURSE YOU’RE NOT ALRIGHT. LOOK, I MISSED YOU.”  
“MiSsEd YoU tOo. I’m SoRrY fOr, YoU kNoW, eVeRyThInG.”  
“I’M SORRY TOO. I WAS NEVER A GOOD MOIRAIL TO YOU. I ONLY HELPED YOU WHEN IT WAS TOO LATE. I SHOULD HAVE PAID MORE ATTENTION AND WEANED YOU OFF OF THE SOPOR SLOWLY. I WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR YOU AND I FAILED.”  
“DoN’t YoU gO aNd FeEl GuIlTy FoR tHiNgS tHaT wErE aLl My MoThErFuCkIn FaUlT. yOu CoUlDn’T hAvE sToPpEd Me. No OnE cOuLd’Ve. I WeNt AnD kIlLeD aLl Of My BeSt MoThErFuCkIn FrIeNdS aNd I’m PrEtTy FuCkInG sUrE I WoUlD’vE dOnE tHe SaMe ThInG tO yOu If YoU wErEn’T sO gOoD wItH yOuR sHoOsHeS aNd PaPs. StOp BeIn AlL uP aNd UpSeT oVeR sOmEtHiNg YoU cOuLdN’t ChAnGe.”  
“BUT THEN YOU JUST DISAPPEARED INTO THE VENTS AND WASN’T SURE IF YOU WERE DEAD OR ALIVE AND I SURE AS HELL DIDN’T WANT ANOTHER DEAD BODY FUMING UP THE VEIL.”  
“yOu dOn’t hAvE To lOsE SlEeP OvEr tHaT. i’m pReTtY SuRe tHe mIrThFuL MeSsIaHs gRaNtEd mE WiTh fUcKiN ImMoRtAlItY Or sOmE ShIt.”  
“FIRST OF ALL, YOU KNOW I NEVER SLEEP. SECOND, I’M PRETTY SURE YOU’RE DELUSIONAL. WE ALL ONLY GOT SO MANY LIVES.”  
“NaH, mOtHeRfUcKeR. tAkE A GaNdEr.” Gamzee pulled away the tatters of what looked like a god-tier costume and revealed a torso full of scarred-over welts.   
“JESUS FUCKING CHRIST GAMZEE. WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO YOU?”   
“sOmE TrIgGeR-HaPpY MoThErFuCkEr sHoT Me uP. i sTiLl fOlLoWeD HiM. i fUcKiNg lEfT My bEsT BrO To bE A MaSoChIsT FoR A PiSsEd oFf gReEn mOtHeRfUcKeR. iT WaS A MiSsIoN FrOm tHe dArK CaRnIvAl, BuT SeEiNg hOw mUcH ThAt fUcKeD YoU Up, I DoN’T KnOw iF It wAs mOtHeRfUcKiN WoRtH It.” Gamzee’s voice cracked at the end of his confession and Karkat realized with a start that purple-tinted tears were mixing in with the greasepaint and he felt his chest organ ache with pale instinct. He reached out a trembling hand and brushed the tips of his claws across Gamzee’s scars, feeling the sad clown’s tears drip onto his hand. The smaller troll pulled his friend in for a hug. The noise slowly grew like whispered thunder in his chest:   
“SHOOOOOOSH”   
As the sound grew, Karkat remembered the last time, years ago, when he had to calm his best friend, and felt his own blood-red tears mixing with Gamzee’s. Emotions that he held in, to look strong, to show no weakness, to be a leader, all poured out with his tears as his hands, moving from memory, papped Gamzee’s scars and bullet holes.   
“LOOK, I KNOW THAT WE CAN’T BE PALE BROS ANYMORE, BUT CAN WE STILL BE FRIENDS?”  
“oF MoThErFuCkIn cOuRsE, bRo.” Gamzee mumbled into Karkat’s shoulder. The ex-pale friends held each other until they both passed out from exhaustion in a pile of shitty soda and not even the horrorterrors could shake them from their righteous embrace.


End file.
